Future Shock
by Flight at Midnight
Summary: What if Max didn't succeed in saving the world, & everything went terribly wrong because of it, including the death of the Flock & millions of others? What if, years later, there was a way for Max to change it all? Slow to start, but picks up at Ch. 3 FAX
1. Prologue

**A/N: Flight at Midnight here with her first story ever: Future Shock! It's going to be full of twists, turns, and things you *hopefully* don't see coming. So hold on tight, and get prepared for the ride.**

**Note: This is a redone prologue!**

**Please R&R guys, 'cause I'd really appreciate it. I'll return the favor for whoever reviews and their story(ies) too as soon as I can! Also, concrit is much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! James Patterson owns Maximum Ride.**

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Prologue

_January 17, 2010_

**Max POV**

Chaos.

Annhilation.

Utter destruction.

These are just a few of the words running through my head as I look down at the Earth, my wings beating rhythmically up and down in order to keep me aloft.

Most of the other words, though, were colorful, 4-letter words that I was lucky that Angel wasn't around to hear.

Where **was** the Flock? I hope they are nowhere near the ground.

Those poor, dead people.

I wish I could help them, but I just can't. If I do, then I'll die too, and then I won't be much help then, now will I?

If the Flock IS on the ground then… oh god, I can't think of it.

But if they are… dead, what can I do? I can only hope, for now, that they are alive.

I never got to say good-bye, either. And other things, like telling Fang that I lo- lov- love him. There, I said it. I swear, if they're alive, that will be the first thing I will tell him.

If they're alive…

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**And there is the prologue! The story will pick up faster later on. **

**R&R?**


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Hiya! So, sorry about the rushed prologue... I had to sneak onto my home computer to do it, since the site's blocked on my laptop. It will take me a while to update until I figure out a way to get around it. If anyone knows anyway how to get around blocks, please tell! Anyway, um, some constructive criticism would be much appreciated - this is my first story, so some help would be nice! So, erm, enjoy the first chapter, I hope!

Flight at Midnight

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1.

_January 17, 2017_

**Max POV**

It's been seven years.

It's been seven years since I last saw my Flock.

It's been seven years since humanity was nearly destroyed, leaving behind only a few hundred people on the face of the Earth.

It's been seven years.

I sigh and stare at the crinkled picture I am holding in my hand, tears still welling up in my eyes, even after all of these years. The Flock. This picture of all of us had been taken by my mom, Dr. Martinez, a little while before That Day. Mom. I miss her, and Ella, too. A shiver went down my spine, and I glanced up to make sure no one was in the room to see me be so… weak. I was definite, though, that no one would be around. Ever since That Day, that ingloriously fateful day, I have only seen one other living person.

I went back to the picture. I looked at sweet little Angel, smiling in the picture, making everything like sunshine. No matter how annoying she could be with reading everyone's personal thoughts and whatnot, I still miss her so much it physically hurts. It is the same whenever I think of the rest of the Flock. My eyes scroll over the rest of the picture. I see Total, standing near Angel's feet, maybe thinking of something else to complain to me about. The Gasman, with his trademark mischievous look in his eye, probably contemplating the next bomb he was going to make. And there was Iggy, standing next to him, his pyro partner in crime, Iggy's unseeing eyes unnervingly finding the camera's lens. It was really spooky sometimes. Ah, there was Nudge, next to Angel, her mouth wide open, caught in the middle of a sentence when the picture was being taken. And then there, standing next to a fourteen year-old me was Fang. _Fang_. Just standing there, dark, handsome, silent, and brooding, his arm draped protectively around my shoulder. I twitched my shoulder, trying to bring back the memory of the feeling of his arm. I missed him the most, even though I would never admit it - I was supposed to love all the Flock equally. Except… Fang was special. I _loved_ him loved him. And now he was gone. They all are. But hopefully, that was all soon about to change. I stood up from of the chair in Jeb's main office, and headed off through to door and down the hall towards his terrible memory-inducing lab located in the back.

"Is it almost done, Jeb?" I asked Jeb, my father, impatiently as I walked into the chemical-smelling lab. Yes, even after all these years of us two being part the few hundred lonely human survivors, I still would not call him dad.

"Yes, Max, almost," he said in a fatherly way. I nearly shuddered, 1) because he would never be a true father to me, and 2) because he was wearing a white lab coat while working on this experiment.

The one that could possibly change everything as I know it.

"Will it work?" I asked him, trying to get my mind off of the presence of the cold lab surrounding me.

"Yes, it is extremely likely that it will," Jeb said, sounding very scientific. It gave me the creeps. He continued tinkering with something on the small metal bracelet-looking type thing. I sighed with impatience, and I swear I saw Jeb smile.

"And it… is… done," Jeb said triumphantly as he put down the tiny wrench on the table and stood up.

"Really?" I said excitedly, not even attempting to act indifferent. I couldn't believe it. This could really work, and everything will be the way it should be.

"Yes, really Max," Jeb said smilingly. "Now, are you sure you want to go now?" I nodded my head vigorously up and down.

"ASAP," I said, trying to wipe the big, goofy smile I had gotten on my face, and failing miserably.

"Okay then, if you are sure," Jeb said, attaching the experiment to my wrist. Well, what do you know, it's a bracelet. Let's hope this piece of jewelry works.

"Do you know what you are going to say?" Jeb asked, while handing me all of the supplies I would need and stuffing them into my pockets. It was hard to fit everything, but I did it, making sure that I didn't crumple the picture of the Flock more than it already was. I then nodded my head yes in answer to Jeb's question. Of course I knew what I was going to say. I had been practicing what I was going to say over and over again ever since I learned of Jeb's idea.

"I thought so," Jeb said, chuckling a bit. "And I have calibrated the bracelet so that it will go to the correct place and the correct time. But you only have until this wire," he tapped a long, thin wire that went around the length of the bracelet, "burns out. This will take about two hours. When it does burn out, that is when you will return. And you only have this one chance, because it will be impossible to ever return once you come back. The space time continuum will not allow more than one passage. If there is more than one, the thread of time could unravel. We are already stretching it out as it is." I nodded again. I think I lost my voice in all of the excitement. "Alright then. Good luck Maximum. Go save the world."

"Piece of cake. Done it once, done it a million times, right?" I asked Jeb, referring to defeating Itex in Germany, and taking a crack at his good parenting skills. You know, raising me for the sole purpose of risking my life saving the world, and not raising me to have a daughter and let me to grow up and be successful in life, blah blah blah.

Jeb smiled at me, and pressed a button on the metal bracelet, making it light up in places. "I love you, Maximum. Good-bye, and see when you get back," he said as I began to fade away. I looked down at my hands, which were beginning to go translucent.

I decided to be nice to him for once. After all, he was doing something- well for humanity, but for me too- that meant the world to me. "I love you too, dad." I saw Jeb's face brighten up, but then it was gone in a flash of blinding white light, which I was now surrounded by. This surprisingly didn't hurt at all.

Here I go. Seven years into the past.

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R&R? Also, feels free to voice any questions, comments, or concerns!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Um, hi! It's Flight at Midnight again. Well, I haven't gotten any reviews yet. I would really appreciate reviews, because I don't know whether or not I should discontinue this story or not, as people don't seem to be reading :( I know I got hits, but I would truly appreciate the knowledge of whether or not this is worth continuing. So, hating to sound beggy, please R&R! Oh, and on a side note, Fax coming up!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! James Patterson owns Maximum Ride.**

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Chapter 3

_January 15, 2010_

**Present Max POV**

"Smile!" There was a bright flash of light, like the kind when a gun is shot. Normally I would have gone into my fighting stance, but I knew that it was just my mom, taking a picture of the Flock with an old-fashioned camera. You know, the kind were the picture comes out developed in a minute or two. She had found it in the attic of her house with only one picture left on the roll, and had wanted to take a picture of the Flock, since we rarely have one taken willingly.

So we all smiled accordingly- well, except for Fang that is. He just stood there impassively with his arm around my shoulder which felt right to have there. But just as the flash went off to take the picture, Nudge started gabbing, as usual.

"Hey do you think tha – oh whoops the picture wasn't taken yet darn I'm talking in it I hope that my mouth wasn't too open hey do you think it will turn out funn – mmmmph," Nudge blathered out, but was silenced by Angel's hand over her mouth once the picture had been taken. "Sorry," Nudge said, and then turned to Angel to talk more about something else.

Total went off to chat with Akila about their up-coming wedding, and Gazzy and Iggy started whispering quietly to each other. I occasionally caught the words "bomb materials" and "Dennis Quaid." For some reason, ever since they saw "The Parent Trap," Iggy and the Gasman have hated Dennis Quaid. Iggy keeps saying that he's the Spawn of Satan. I was worried that they were going to bomb him out of existence, sending him back to "meet his maker." I was going to have to search their packs later.

That left me, leaning against Fang, his arm still around me and his chin resting on my head. We were at my mom's, Dr. Martinez, house, but were about to leave. Ella wanted to see us off, but couldn't because she had school and had already missed so much of it while my mom was kidnapped by Mr. Chu. That's why we, the Flock, were there in the first place- to look after my mom after she got out of the hospital, and make sure no one tried to kidnap her again, while this hi-tech security system was being installed here. But now we had to be on the move again. It wasn't safe for the Flock to be in one place for too long, no matter how well protected it was. Total, though, was staying with Akila at my mom's house to plan their wedding more. Question: How intricate could a dog's wedding be?

"Here's the picture," my mom said, coming over to me and Fang. She handed me the picture. Nudge did have her mouth open, but it added… her character to the photo. The photo looked great.

"Thanks mom," I said, pulling away from Fang a bit to hug her. She patted my back and pulled away smiling, glancing at Fang's arm that never left my shoulder. My mom had immediately approved of Fang and me when she first saw us holding hands in her hospital room back in Hawaii. "Alright guys, U and A!"

The Flock gathered tightly together in my mom's backyard. I did a quick 360o to make sure everything was good, we said our good-byes to my mom, Total, and Akila, and then the Flock was off on a new journey.

"So, what's the plan?" Fang asked me, gliding over on his dark, amazing wings, and catching the sunlight in his black hair. I kept on staring at him, like the idiot I was. Great. "Max," he said, looking at me strangely and pulling me out of my trance. Oh, right, the plan.

"Well the Voice hasn't said much lately, so I figure that we just fly around and settle in different places until something important comes up." In other words, no plan. Fang got this, and nodded. Then he stopped and started staring at me. Huh, did I eat a bug while I was talking without realizing it – again?

"_No Max," _Angel told me in my head,_ "he is just thinking of how pretty you look when you're flying._" Really? No, Angel's just trying to make me feel better – I did swallow another bug.

"_Max, NO_," Angel thought back, and I forgot that she just kept on listening to my private thoughts. "_I'm telling the truth. Fang really loves you, and you should tell him that you do too._"

"_Thanks Angel, but for now, can you just stay out of my thoughts for a bit. I need to think- by myself_."

"_Sure, but you really should tell him, Max. He isn't sure to tell you because he doesn't know if you love him back. Bye!_" Angel thought cheerfully into my head and left my thoughts. That sentence didn't sound _too_ weird. And why does she always make things more difficult for me? Now I have a whole lot to think about.

The Flock spent most of the flight silently gliding, powerfully moving our wings up and down rhythmically in the air. Well, we all did except for Nudge, who kept up a steady one-sided conversation the whole entire time. We all managed to drown her out though, from practice.

Eventually the younger kids got tired, so we started to descend into a tiny clearing in a forest to make camp for the night. And what a night it turned out to be.

)()()()()()()()

**Future Max POV**

Time travelling isn't all that it's cracked up to be. It really was just a flash of light, and _bam!_ I was in the past, slowly fading into existence. Weird, huh? Anyway, even after all of these years, I recognized the clearing I appeared in. The Flock had camped here a little before That Day. I visibly remember everywhere I was with the Flock within a few weeks of That Day, because those memories are all I have left of them.

Alright, enough with the sob stories and feeling bad for myself. I figured I had until about 15 minutes until we had landed, so I would hide somewhere nearby, and come out when they were least likely to attack me right on. I had to do it quickly though- I only had an hour and three quarters left once they got here. So I hid far enough away so that they couldn't see me, but I could see them with my much improved eyesight. It turns out that our eyesight actually improves over the years. I uncomfortably crouched behind some tall overgrown bushes, watching the clearing closely. Soon enough I heard the beating of large wings in the air, and saw my Flock land. I think I'm going to throw up, I'm so excited to see them again. Glancing at all of their faces made me have trouble swallowing. Okay, control yourself, Max, you can do this.

I watched as the Flock set up camp for the night. Then, I had to silently hide farther in the brush, because past Max and Fang went right by me to gather firewood for dinner. I watched us – them – whatever – steadily. I saw Fang walk over silently to me, grab my hand to pull me closer, and kiss me. Past me- I'll just say PM for now on - dropped her firewood to kiss Fang more deeply. I always miss kissing him. I loved Fang – no, love, because I still do – and regret never telling him that before he died. As I was thinking this, PM and Fang's kissing got a little more… intense. Did I really used to do that with the Flock so close by? Erm, I will have to see if I can warn PM of that. Ew. I guess this is great and everything when you're the one who's making out. But when you are watching… not so much. Oh good, we stopped to bring the firewood back. I waited for another minute or so after the fire started, and then I decided to go and reveal myself to the Flock. Here goes nothing.

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**Present Max POV**

A little after we set up camp, Fang and I decided to go collect firewood for our dinner. As I walked past some bushes, I could have sworn someone was there, but when I looked, I couldn't see anyone. So I shrugged it off, especially since Fang didn't notice anything. I already had a bundle of firewood in my hands when I noticed Fang looking at me.

I looked at him questioningly. In response, Fang came over to me, grabbed the hand with less firewood in it, pulled me towards him, and pulled me into a deep kiss. I immediately dropped the rest of my firewood and kissed him back. It felt so amazing, wonderful, any positive adjective one could think of. I put my arms around his neck and Fang slid his hands down my back and to my waist. We got a little, er, passionate at one point. I really hoped that one of the Flock didn't happen to come to see what was taking us so long.

Eventually, though, Fang and I broke apart. We put our flushed foreheads together, and I smiled, causing Fang to smirk at me back, and it made me feel like I was floating on air. You know, without using my wings.

Then we had to pick up the dropped firewood and head back to the Flock to start the fire for dinner. My mom had given us some food for Iggy to cook while we were camping so we wouldn't have to immediately go shopping after we left her house. We had a good crackling fire after a minute, and Iggy started to prepare the meat for cooking.

"Oh thank goodness I am starving I'm glad Max's mom packed us food so we didn't have to hunt for it or buy it or anything and wow I can't believed I used to be a vegetarian I can't live without my meat hey what took you and Max so long getting the firewood Fang?" Nudge said in all one breath. Fang and I glanced at each other, not sure what to say.

"We were, uh," I started, but Angel cut me off.

"Do you really have to ask? You already know what they were doing," Angel stated boldly, then made ridiculous kissy faces that we all had a good laugh at. But before I could say anything to contradict her, someone cut me off.

"Hello, guys. Good to see you again."

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**R&R?**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Before we begin, I would like to say thank you to Glitterwave, who is my first ever reviewer. Thank you so so much. You have given me heart to continue. :) However, I would still like reviews from people. And trust me, if you review, then I will return the favor for your story(ies) as soon as I can. Oh, and on a side note, I revamped the prologue, so go check it out if you feel like it. Also, concrit: much appreciated.**

**Warning: Character death ahead. Hopefully, though, Future Max will be able to prevent it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

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**Present Max POV**

My head snapped to the left to see the woman who spoke coming out of the woods, just where Fang and I had come from with the firewood. That solved that one mystery on if someone was in the bushes, but started many other mysteries.

The Flock and I all got into our fighting stances, getting our butt-kicking faces on.

The woman was really pretty, with brown hair and blonde streaks in it, kind of like mine, and chocolate eyes, also like mine.

Weird.

Not to mention that when she looked at us, there was a look of wanting, happiness, and sadness all at once in her eyes. She was wearing a weird metallic bracelet, dark blue jeans, and a light blue t-shirt with wings on the front. She kind of looked like the leader of Itex Germany – you know, the kook who said that she was my mother, Marian Janssen.

Also weird. But what was really strange was that Angel hadn't sensed her coming. She usually senses if anyone other than us is nearby. This made me uneasy. When I glanced at the rest of the Flock out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that they too were confused by the woman's appearance. I then realized I had to speak to her.

"Who are you? And what do you mean by again?" I said, trying to sound forceful and in control. The woman just smiled sadly and stepped closer to us, causing us all to tense up even more, if that was possible.

"Come any closer and we will attack. Now answer me," I said coldly. That would have frozen most full grown men, but it just made the woman shake her head solemnly.

"What, you don't recognize yourself?"

What did she just say? The Flock's eyes widened. "Sure, you've aged a bit, but you have to see the resemblance. I'm you from, well, this sounds really corny and sci-fi ish, the future."

Now the Flock was stunned, including me, but we couldn't let this stranger know that. She couldn't be telling the truth… Could she?

"_Angel, honey, are you picking up any vibes from her? Any thoughts?_" I thought, hoping Angel was listening in.

"_Nope, none at all. She's blocking me out. But I think she's an older you, Max,_" Angel thought back.

"_What about you, Voice? Any words of wisdom, hinting at who she is?_"

…No answer, of course. Why did I even ask.

I sighed internally. This was going to get interesting.

"Alright, then if you are me from the future, how can you prove it?" I directed my question towards her, motioning to the rest of the Flock to stand down a bit, but not entirely.

The woman - me, possibly - smiled and took a step closer and sat down in front of the campfire. The Flock sat opposite of her – me – whatever. She soaked all of our faces in, as if she hadn't seen any of them in ages. But she had to have if she were me from the future, right?

"Well… how should I do this…" she trailed off. Then she straightened up. "I've got it," she said happily.

The woman, possibly _moi_ from the future, rummaged in her jean's pocket for a minute, then pulled out a picture and passed it to me. I gasped.

It was an exact replica of the picture my mom had taken earlier today, except older and more crumpled.

I took out my own picture and compared the two. They were exact matches. That means it wasn't a replica, it couldn't be, no one else but my mom and I have handled the picture.

This was the picture. I showed the pictures to the rest of the Flock, and they were speechless – including Nudge, if that's even possible.

"How did you get here from the future?" Iggy asked Future Me interestedly, deciding to believe her… for now.

"I will explain later, I have more important things to tell you guys about," Future Me said solemnly.

Fang looked up at Future Me – I'll just say FM for now on – in wonder.

"But that doesn't explain why you are here. So why are you?" he asked FM, staring at her – me – whatever – awestruck. I started to get jealous, then realized that it was me he was staring at, just an older version. Creepy, but sweet.

The delighted smile FM had on her face when Fang talked to her slid off like gelatin on a hot car's windshield.

FM took a deep breath, then spoke. This wasn't going to be good. "It's a long, long, terrible story. But in short, I'm here to help you save humanity – and yourselves – from death."

)()()()()()()()

**Future Max POV**

"It's a long, long, terrible story. But in short, I'm here to help you save humanity- and yourselves- from death." Well, I couldn't have made that more ominous and depressing for them, could I? If I thought that the Flock's eyes were big before, I was wrong. They looked like the size of dinner plates now.

"What do you mean? What happens?" Iggy asked me, eerily finding my face with his sightless eyes. This was going to be hard to explain.

"Tell us the whole story. Now," PM said, trying to sound cold. Aw, cute! I could see underlying fear, though, on what she just said.

I took another deep breath, then spoke.

"In a few days time – for some reason I'm not allowed to say exactly when – Mr. Chu will have you guys all kidnapped and taken to separate places. It will be then that all of you, except for me, or, er, Max, obviously, will be killed."

I heard a collective gasp, and saw everyone's faces pale.

"This event will bring about the destruction of nearly all of humanity. Here, let me tell you a bit about when I'm from."

"When I'm from, nearly all of humanity is wiped out. Heck, pretty much the only person I've seen since you guys were… gone, is Jeb. You would think that humans would repopulate, but we can't. The animals are becoming smarter, more powerful without as many humans holding them back, and every day on the radio I hear the already small population of the world decreasing because of this. Soon there will be barely anyone left." I got shocked faces from everyone, including Fang, and that's saying something.

"But how did it get like that in the first place?" Gazzy asked me, his face uncharacteristically solemn.

I sighed internally. This was harder than I imagined it would be.

"Mr. Chu murdered all of you because he knew we would get in the way of his plans to slash the human race down by millions. You remember the original By-Half Plan, right? Well, this was it, but a revamped version." I paused, then continued.

"He knew we would stop him before his plan even started. His plan was to get on a private jet with a bunch of other high-paying people and world leaders, then hit a button on a special remote that sent a deadly virus that his company created into the ground. The microbes of the virus affected any humans – no animals – that were in contact with or on something touching the ground. It was horrible."

I shivered at the memory of people dying below me while I was flying, knowing I couldn't save them because I would die if I tried to touch one of them, and I needed to find what was causing this to happen.

"I had no idea what was going on – I was flying around, looking for you guys, hoping you had escaped capture, when I saw everything start glowing orange and people dropping like flies. I knew that Mr. Chu was behind it, and went to look for his plane, because I figured out that the virus only affected things on the ground. I never found him without help from you guys. Eventually, after about an hour or so, the virus died out without anyone else to manifest on. Everyone not in the air died. I had also tried to find my mom and Ella."

I shivered again, remembering the gut wrenching feeling I got when I discovered their corpses on the ground, and realizing I was too late.

"But I didn't get there in time." I had been staring at my knees, hugging them against my body, while telling the story. I heard a sniffle and looked up.

Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge were all silently crying. I saw PM, Iggy, and even Fang holding back tears.

"We have to stop him," PM said, and I was proud of my bravery then. "No matter what."

Angel looked at me right in the eyes. "I have a question," she said, not tearing her gaze away from my eyes. "How did the rest of us die?"

Oh boy. This was another thing I wasn't looking particularly forward to telling them about. But I had to tell them so that they would be able to survive and save the world.

"Well, I found out everything from files I took from Mr. Chu and his minions when the angry people remaining in the world murdered them for doing this to everyone," I said, almost gloating over his death, which had happened about a day after his little plan took place and everyone who was on a plane or in the air learned what had happened. His plan majorly backfired on him.

I wish I had been one of those people to take him down, but I was still looking for my Flock, not knowing their fates yet.

Okay, how do I tell someone how they could possibly die? I guess I will have to go on instinct. Joy.

"Alright… I guess I'll go in age order, from youngest to oldest. Angel, Mr. Chu learned about your gills and mental powers, so he sent mindless robot minions to capture you when he kidnapped all of us in the night." I still don't know how he was able to pull it off. "He… he… had them tie you up, bring you to a garbage dump, throw you into a garbage compacter, and… let it crush you… to death." I mumbled the last few words.

I saw tears freely fall from PM's face now. That's how I reacted too, when I first read the files. Only I was alone, and I completely broke down. I even contemplated killing myself, but I had to see first if there was anything I could do first to help stop this. Good thing I waited.

"For Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy," I continued painfully, knowing I only had about an hour left here now, "they tied you guys also securely up, weighed you down, and drowned you guys in separate oceans around the world." I heard Nudge sob audibly, and looked up to see an also horrified Gazzy put his arm comfortingly around her.

"What about me?" Fang asked, his intense eyes boring into me. This part was the one I was most dreading. I still loved him so much, it was nearly killing me to be this close but still have to sit this far away from him.

"They did to you what they attempted to do to me," I started painfully. "They brought us both to separate canyons, and tied us up tightly. I figured out how to escape- I somehow turned on the M-Geeks, destroyed them, and was able to free myself before they got any further. But I guess you weren't so lucky." I gulped loudly, then continued. "The M-Geeks cut off your wings, then pushed you off of the edge of the canyon, letting you fall to your death."

If I thought their faces were horrified before, I was sadly mistaken. Everyone was crying freely, even the almighty, emotionless rock that is Fang.

"Why did you have to tell us all of this?" PM angrily questioned me, comforting Angel in her arms.

"In order to prevent it from ever happening," I replied coolly, trying to hide the inner turmoil that had sprung up while telling them their- hopefully- original fates.

"How will telling us prevent these events from happening?" Nudge asked tearfully. I smiled, trying to cheer them up.

"Well, I brought some presents from the future that will help, if anyone would like them," I said happily, trying to lighten the dark and unsettling mood that had come upon us. This is where it would get good. Jeb had given me the gadgets to give to the Flock specialized for them and the prevention of their deaths. I hope they work.

"Oooh presents? From the future? ZOMG that is so amazing we will have stuff that no one else will have for years that is so cool ooh I hope my present's cute or at least fashionable!" Nudge would have kept going on, if Gazzy hadn't slapped his hand over her mouth at that point.

She looked at me apologetically. "Sorry!" I nodded, not really minding since I had wanted to hear Nudge talk like that, so incessantly, for years.

I checked the bracelet. I only had about 45 minutes left, since a little over half the wire was gone. I had to do this quickly, in case they had any important questions that I forgot to explain. So I quickly put my hands into my deep jean pockets, pulling everything out that I needed to give them.

"Alright, these are specially made for you guys and the… death you face," I started out, noticing a look of apprehension on all of their faces.

I tossed a small silver pill to Angel, and she caught it deftly. PM looked at me warily, still not sure whether or not she should trust me. That's me for ya.

"You guys have to trust me if you want to survive," I said, acknowledging PM's narrowed eyes. She relaxed a bit, but was still on guard.

"Angel, sweetie, you are going to have to swallow that pill. It will give you control over any machines that you want to control for at least two weeks, which is enough time. You won't be able to stop robots though, for some reason," Jeb had never figured out why, "but it will allow you to control the garbage crusher. The pill will also allow you to grow spikes at will anywhere on your body, and make them disappear, so that you will be able to cut through the ropes that they bind you with. This effect will last as long as the machine controlling."

Angel's eyes went wide, and dryswallowed the pill quickly. I noticed that the Gasman looked envious of his sister. He wouldn't be for long.

"For Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy," I said, throwing them edible cubes that looked a lot like lemon Starburst, but definitely didn't taste like them, "you guys eat those, and you will be able to breathe underwater, like Angel, Fang, and Me-ax, for two weeks."

I had almost said me. I pretty much did, and just covered it up badly. I am trying to avoid saying me, so they don't get too freaked out.

"It will also allow you to grow spikes, like Angel's, and get rid of them, so you can cut off the bindings they put on you." They all nodded and ate the cube quickly.

Then I turned to Fang, and threw him a pill also, but his was black. Ironic, no? If you're wondering how I'm throwing all of these precious things to the Flock across the fire, I'm not. We were too busy talking to rekindle the flames of the fire, so it had died out, giving a happy me a better view of everyone.

"Like the others, you will be able to grow spikes, yada yada yada, you know the rest. But unlike the others, an invisible, weightless, iron covering around the entirety of your wings, making them impossible to damage or cut off, for, like the others, two weeks." Fang just looked at me, kind of wide-eyed, and swallowed the pill. I felt PM staring at me, waiting for her turn.

"Yea, um, sorry Max, but I kind of only have advice for you. Since you- we- whatever, made it out alive, there is really no need to give you anything. So just do what we do best. Kick the snot out of everyone," I said, oh so eloquently. At least that made PM's mouth twitch into a smile a little bit.

I looked down at the bracelet. 20 minutes left.

"So, do you guys have any questions?" I asked them, observing that Gazzy was already happily making spikes grow on his arms, nearly impaling Iggy and Nudge, who were on either side of him.

"Yea, I do," Gazzy said. I had a feeling he would.

"Go ahead," I said, smiling to encourage the Gasman on.

"Well, no offense Max, we know you're smart and everything, but not this smart. How did you get all of these things? And how did you get into the past? You told Iggy that you'd explain if you had time." Oh boy. I'd have to explain about Jeb. All of the Flock's eyes were turned to me now.

"Well as I said, they only person I have seen since the whole of humanity almost dying out thing was Jeb. He made all of these things. Including this bracelet that allowed me to return and warn you guys." I saw PM's eyes flare up.

"How did he survive?" she asked, spitting acid. Oh boy, she was angry he survived.

I felt tears well up in my eyes again, and I tried to not let them take me over.

"He knew about the plan all along. He couldn't tell us, though. It was part of the big picture of me saving the world, so we weren't allowed to know- we had to figure it out. So he didn't touch any part of the ground on that day. And later on he found me and explained more on what happened. It took all of my strength not to kill him, right then and there. I think the only reason I didn't was because he told me he could make a way to allow me to come back to the past and prevent everything from ever happening. Anything else?" I finished abruptly.

Angel innocently looked at me.

"What about Total?" she said sadly. I bit my lip.

"Since Total had some human DNA in him, the virus was able to destroy him too," I said sadly. No matter how annoying he could get, he was still part of the Flock, and I missed him too- just not as much. I saw more tears stream down Angel's cheeks.

The Flock was silent again. I looked down at the bracelet again. 10 minutes.

"Well, I have 10 minutes left. I guess if you guys don't have any more questions, I should get ready to leave." I stood up, brushing myself off a bit. The Flock stood up also. It took all of my self control not to rush over and hug them. Geez, being alone all of these years has made me soft.

I guess I let my mind block down for a moment (Jeb wouldn't be too happy), because the next thing I knew, Angel ran over and hugged me. I broke into a huge, uncontrollable smile, and hugged her back.

Tears welled at my eyes again, and I fought them back, nearly unsuccessfully. Next thing I knew, the whole Flock came over to group hug me, except for PM. I guess that would be pretty weird. But I brushed it off, and went back to enjoying being near the Flock again.

Hopefully, if I executed everything properly, maybe I wouldn't have to miss them. They would be with me again, and none of my loneliness and suffering would have happened. I unwillingly broke apart from the Flock's long-lasting hug. I really really wanted to kiss Fang, but that would be a little creepy, seeing as there was a seven-year age difference now.

Hey, I am as old as was Brigid in this time. Did I mention she was one of Mr. Chu's minions who died when the remaining people revolted? I knew I didn't like her for a reason.

I went over to PM. She stiffened, and looked warily at me. I needed to tell her some things. Things I regret never saying and doing.

"Make these last days with them the best you can, in case it doesn't work out. Get a good pinpoint on Mr. Chu so you can stop his plan from ever happening. And," I said, lowering my voice so that the rest of the Flock couldn't hear me, even with our enhanced hearing, "tell Fang that you love him. I always regret never telling him that."

PM's eyes widened, and she blushed faintly. I went back to talking in a normal tone.

"Oh and don't trust Brigid, whatever you do. She was working with Mr. Chu." I saw a look of smug satisfaction grow on PM's face, and I saw her mouth the words _I told you so_ to Fang. I grinned, and looked at the bracelet. Less than one minute. Where did all the time go?

I stepped backwards, towards the woods, away from all of them so I could head back to the future. Isn't that a movie? I smiled one last time at the Flock, drinking in their images, just in case it all went wrong. I began to become translucent again, and the Flock's eyes were wide once again. Their eyes are going to be permanently like that after today's little adventure.

"Good-bye guys, and good luck," I said, disappearing more and more. "And hopefully I'll see you all very soon." With that, there was a blinding flash of white light, and I left the past, for good.

* * *

**Bloody McAwesome? Terrible? Review and let me know!**

**ALSO: Here is a little self plugging of mine: If you are a Fax lover, check out my two-shot, Beach FAXcation. Thanks to all!**


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